Former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Mike Brown is itching to redeem himself.

Not more than a week after suffering a split-decision loss to Diego Nunes this past Saturday at UFC 125, Brown (24-7 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has volunteered to step in for an injured Chan Sung Jung (10-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and meet Rani Yahya (15-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at “UFC Fight Night 23: Fight for the Troops 2.”

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported Jung’s injury earlier today and confirmed the replacement with sources close to the event.

“UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fight for the Troops 2″ takes place at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, and it serves as a fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. The main card airs on Spike TV, though Brown vs. Yahya is slated for the untelevised preliminary card.

It’s the second chance to make a good first impression for Brown. The American Top Team fighter was one of several fighters imported into the UFC from the shuttered WEC, where he served an eight-fight stint that saw him upset then-dominant featherweight champion Urijah Faber and hold the the title in two subsequent defenses. Newly anointed UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo took his belt in his follow-up appearance to a second victory over Faber.

At the time of the UFC-WEC merger, Brown was one of the only fighters with UFC experience under his belt. He took on the colorful Genki Sudo at UFC 47 and was submitted in the first round.

In a recent interview with MMAjunkie.com, Brown said his experience as WEC champion was better preparation for his move than his previous fight in the octagon. He didn’t expect any extra respect because of his previous title reign.

“I think I’ve got to prove myself,” Brown said. “But I think that’s the case for most fights. I had to prove myself against Urijah the first time. I had to prove against Leonard (Garcia) that I was really the champ. I had to beat Urijah again to prove it wasn’t a fluke.”

Meanwhile, Yahya makes his UFC debut as a one-time WEC bantamweight title challenger. The submission ace fell short in his bid against Chase Beebe at WEC 30, though he quickly became a staple of future WEC cards after a one-fight stint at K-1 Premium “Dynamite!! 2007.”

Yahya put together a three-fight win streak with the WEC against John Hosman, Eddie Wineland and Yoshiro Maeda, and all three fights saw the Brazilian claim “Submission of the Night” honors. However, since then, Yahya has dropped back-to-back outings to Takeya Mizugaki and Joseph Benavidez.

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